North Union’s Kayla Sedgwick (10) sends the ball back toward the net on Tuesday. The NU senior earned her 1,000th career dig in the Lady Cats’ first season win against Indian Lake. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Winning has been a challenge for North Union’s volleyball team this season.
However, Tuesday was a different story as one of its own earned a career milestone during the Lady Cats’ 3-2 win over Indian Lake.
“[We] brought the intensity,” Lady Cats’ head coach Alexis Maenz said. “It felt like we were close at times… we just needed an extra spark. Tonight, we got there.”
North Union started out strong, taking a comfortable lead. Early in the first set, North Union pounced on its Central Buckeye Conference opponent by taking the lead at 8-2.
After the Lady Cats scored their ninth point, the Lady Lakers opted to regroup, calling a timeout just as the court was heating up.
Further into the first set, the Lady Lakers started to claw away at their deficit with the score 13-9. However, the Lady Cats stayed vigilant increasing the lead after North Union’s No. 9 Sienna Ballinger, a sophomore, gave her team their 19th point: score 19-12 in the first set.
The Lady Cats claimed the first set 25-19, gaining confidence heading into the rest of the match.
Midway through the second set, Indian Lake answered the call matching the Lady Cats and their offensive prowess. At one point, the two squads scored 11 points apiece, making the second set that much more interesting.
For much of the second set, North Union and Indian Lake match each other’s energy staying close to each other on the scoreboard. In the final moments of the second set, North Union tallied another win, 26-24, to go up 2-0.
During the third set, the Lady Lakers took NU to task, outscoring the Cats, 5-1.
After a brief timeout, the Lady Cats bolstered their defensive and offensive fronts, chopping the deficit to 6-3.
The Lady Cats started to struggle.
IL went on top, 13-5, and reached an 18-9 lead.
With a hard deficit from which to mount a comeback, the Lady Cats picked it up in the third set.
NU pulled to within 23-15, but the Lady Lakers came through in the end winning the third set 25-16.
NU remained in the driver’s seat, 2-1, as the fourth set began.
With a fourth match game to begin, the Lady Cats hoped to end the match with just one more win.
Indian Lake, however, had other plans.
NU trailed early before Zoe Wedding notched the team’s first points of the set with a soft touch over the net.
It did not take long for the Lady Cats to show strength as No. 4 Kiley Pederson helped take a 7-6 margin with an ace serve.
After a quick score from the Lady Lakers, North Union kept chopping away for a 9-7 edge.
Indian Lake tied the game again at 9-9 in what was turning out to be another highly competitive set.
Midway through the set, NU’s Kayla Sedgewick recorded her 1,000th dig, drawing applause from fans on both sides of the aisle.
“Kayla’s done a great job for us all four years,” Maenz said. “She’s a great leader and I couldn’t be more happier for her tonight.”
While the moment was something special, it was back to work on the court.
Indian Lake’s offensive momentum took things, pushing out to a 20-11 led.
The Lady Cats’ defense allowed too many critical points, losing the fourth set 25-13 to tie the series 2-2.
“I think the biggest thing for us… is confidence and finding who we are,” Maenz said.
Players and fans alike waited patiently for the fifth and final set to commence in what was proven to be a highly energetic contest. One thing was for sure, the Lady Cats were not about to let this opportunity go to waste.
The fifth set started like much of the others as both teams traded points.
With a packed student section, the Lady Cats answered the call, winning the final set by and 18-16 margin.
“I feel like games are a good experience for us” Maenz said, noting how the team has been busy competing with little time to practice in an organized setting. “We are shooting our arrow and good things are to come.”
Stats for North Union (1-8 overall and 1-4 in the CBC) included Riley Heminger, nine kills, and Sienna Ballinger with eight.
Candace Holloway notched 14 ace serves and Sedgewick with 26 digs.
NU will host London today.